Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital

1 Hospital Drive, Lewisburg, PA · Wellspan · · NPI 1124076039

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$700.50

Cash price

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Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$7,222.00

Gross charge

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Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$343.57 with Aetna vs $6,940.94 with UPMC — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
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Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
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Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
Aetna All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Geisinger All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Aetna_Advantra_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Amerihealth_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Blue_Cross_BlueJourney_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Devoted_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
First_Health_Network All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Geisinger_Gold_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Highmark_Wholecare_Gateway_Medicaid All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Jefferson_Health_Medicare_Advantage All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
PA_Health_&_Wellness_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
UPMC_for_Life_Community_HealthChoices UPMC_for_Life_Complete_Care $343.57 ↓ -51%
United_Medicaid Community_Plan_For_Kids $343.57 ↓ -51%
United_Medicare ISNP_DSNP_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Humana_Medicare All_Plans $343.57 ↓ -51%
Highmark All_Other_Plans $344.92 ↓ -51%
Performance_Blue Blue_Cross_High_Performance_Network $344.92 ↓ -51%
Highmark_Medicare All_Plans $344.92 ↓ -51%
Highmark Higmark_Healthy_Kids $344.92 ↓ -51%
UPMC_Medicaid All_Plans $372.90 ↓ -47%
Amerihealth_Caritas_Medicaid All_Plans $400.02 ↓ -43%
UPMC UPMC_For_Kids $410.19 ↓ -41%
Health_Partners_Medicaid All_Plans $423.75 ↓ -40%
Highmark_Wholecare_Gateway_Medicare All_Plans $423.75 ↓ -40%
Geisinger_Medicaid All_Plans $439.85 ↓ -37%
PA_Health_&_Wellness_Medicaid All_Plans $440.70 ↓ -37%
United_Healthcare All_Plans $2,106.92 ↑ +201%
Blue_Cross Capital_Cares_4_kids $2,814.97 ↑ +302%
Blue_Cross All_Other_Plans $4,021.39 ↑ +474%
UPMC All_Plans $6,940.94 ↑ +891%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Altoona Altoona $2,604.00 $269.00 – $3,472.00
UPMC Bedford Everett $2,884.20 $122.85 – $4,326.30
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $2,713.80 $338.22 – $3,844.55
UPMC Cole Coudersport $1,907.40 $355.95 – $2,543.20
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $2,713.80 $347.79 – $3,844.55
UPMC East Monroeville $6,218.40 $341.40 – $8,291.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $2,536.20 $281.64 – $2,610.88
UPMC Northwest Seneca $3,827.40 $308.78 – $2,417.12

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →